Although I don’t do competition faceting, people often ask how they can improve the things on which competitions are judged, mainly meets and polish. What I think they’re really asking for is a map of the pathway to excellence. We get good at whatever we measure. So, the first step is to define what “excellence” […]
Paths to Excellence Read More »
This question came in from one of the Mentoring Program members this week: Many of them (jewelers) dislike faceted girdles, because those hard sharp edges make setting the stone difficult, especially with Sunstone. I think this is true, if the girdle is THICK and/or if the jeweler isn’t really that skilled. My ideas on this
This is a natural Sapphire recut of a native gem that was pretty bad in terms of geometry and color presentation. There was a chip at the girdle, lopsided geometry (check where that culet is), bad meets, bad polish, and abraded facet junctions from the typical mishandling often found with native stones: Original was 8
Insane-color Natural Sapphire Recut! Read More »
Here’s an interesting article about faceter William Nagy, a Rockville, Maryland Member of the GLMSMC – who has faceted the largest documented gem cut from native Maryland rough. The gem is Smoky Quartz, finished weight of 72.5 carats, and 29.82 mm x 23.36 mm size. Mr. Nagy has honored me by using my Sultan’s Seat
Largest Native Maryland Faceted Gemstone in Existence Read More »
Here you’ll find the latest gem and faceting stories photos of the latest gems information about faceting-related shows, classes and events new faceting tools and techniques new faceting designs and more! Browse the information, and feel free to contribute to the discussion. ASK ME a question, or suggest a topic!
Welcome to the Academy Blog! Read More »